Good behaviour rewarded with Richmond’s enhanced Positive Ticket for Youth program

09 May 2019

Richmond RCMP, the City of Richmond’s Youth Services and community partners are launching an updated Positive Ticket for Youth program that will provide more opportunities for youth to get involved in recreational activities for “getting caught doing something right”.

Richmond RCMP started this initiative in 2001 and at the time was unaware that the program would be adopted by many other agencies across North America. The concept of Positive Tickets was a bit of an oxymoron and the general response of recipients was one of general surprise. Even today, in different parts of the world, that concept seems a bit strange—the police issuing tickets for positive or good behaviour.

Fast forward to 2019 and the program is going strong and being re-launched with some enhanced offers and a new ticket design. The enhanced 2019 program provides Richmond RCMP officers and other community service providers such as youth development staff at community centres, support workers, school councillors and social workers to give positive tickets to young people up to 18 years of age.

Each ticket can be redeemed for one free drop-in at a participating community facility of choice for activities such as skating, swimming, a round of pitch and putt golf, a workout in a fitness centre or sport open gym. By participating in sport and recreation, the Positive Ticket Program aims to foster healthy, active and involved lifestyles for Richmond youth, as well as enhance physical and social connectedness within the community.

The concept of Positive Ticketing is meant to bridge a gap between today's youth and the police by recognizing good behaviour, rewarding good deeds, or simply connecting and building relationships.
“It's a great feeling when we (officers) are in the high schools and youth aren't afraid or embarrassed to talk with the police. Usually they will high five us or come up and chat, it's a great opportunity to reward them with a Positive Ticket,” said Constable Tammy-Lyn Walker of the Richmond RCMP Youth Section. “The youth are just used to us being part of their school community and they know we are there if they need us.

“The relationship building is so important and the positive ticket helps that connection. The youth know you’re not there to just bust them or to judge them, but to help them make those great decisions that will impact their future. Even at times when they have possibly made a mistake, they own up to it because of the relationship they have built with their school liaison officer. That's the Richmond RCMP's goal here, we want the youth of Richmond, along with the community as a whole, to not be afraid to talk to police. We want to build those trusting relationships. As always, we are so grateful to the City of Richmond for supporting this initiative and have rewarded recipients with provisions to many of the recreational facilities across Richmond,” said Constable Walker.

“The City of Richmond is proud to continue to support this innovative program,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “It both supports our commitment to having police services that connect to our community and our own youth services plan, which focuses on helping youth develop the life skills to have a safe and healthy journey into adulthood.”

The Positive Ticket program for Youth is a joint initiative between the City of Richmond and Richmond RCMP. For more information on the Positive Ticket program, visit richmond.ca/youth.